Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler made his first town hall appearance since being appointed to the role by President Obama some three months ago. Chairman Wheeler attended the Oakland Voices (hashtag “#OaklandVoices”) town hall in Oakland on Thursday, January 9 in front of 100 community activists and reporters. The standing-room-only event took place at Preservation Park in downtown Oakland and was organized by Voices for Internet Justice, a collaboration of almost 30 organizations including The Center for Media Justice, Free Press, ColorOfChange and the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
The event was true to its billing, many voices with different issues spoke up to point out that people of color are often left out of the decision-making process, yet often disproportionately impacted by FCC decisions and practices.